


With a Hoarse Voice Under the Blankets

by Persiflage



Series: The Ways You Said 'I Love You' [1]
Category: Holby City
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F, Falling Asleep on Someone's Shoulder, Falling In Love, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Influenza, Pre-Relationship, Prompt Fic, Sick Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-17
Updated: 2020-05-17
Packaged: 2021-03-02 20:01:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,420
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24232486
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Persiflage/pseuds/Persiflage
Summary: Canon Divergence: Bernie Wolfe falls ill with the 'flu. Serena Campbell makes it her mission to take care of her.
Relationships: Serena Campbell/Bernie Wolfe
Series: The Ways You Said 'I Love You' [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1750207
Comments: 14
Kudos: 76





	With a Hoarse Voice Under the Blankets

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Bat_and_Breakfast](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bat_and_Breakfast/gifts), [robliz](https://archiveofourown.org/users/robliz/gifts).



> Bat_and_Breakfast shared a list of prompts with me: The Ways You Said 'I Love You', and the Bitch Muse pounced on this one. Because the Muse does as she chooses, so here it is. 
> 
> (I may well end up writing more from the list. Because the Muse does as she chooses!)
> 
> I've diverged canon somewhat - Serena and Jason have met, but he's yet to move into her house. Also, Bernie's taking prescription drugs as a consequence of the heart surgery she underwent after being blown up by the IED.

"I told you not to come," husks a hoarse voice from under the blankets as Serena knocks at Bernie’s bedroom door, then puts her head around and greets her friend.

"And I told you that I wasn't going to let you try to manage on your own." Serena's tone is the sort of no-nonsense one she adopts with the junior doctors whenever she thinks they need to stop gossiping and start focusing on the job they're meant to be doing.

"And what if you end up catching it, too?" asks Bernie Wolfe, pushing the blanket down a bit to peer blearily at her friend and co-lead.

"Then Hanssen will have to manage without us. Anyway, I have had the flu jab this year, unlike you." Serena holds up a hand before Bernie can croak out a retort. "I know. It's hardly your fault that you were serving overseas and didn't anticipate being blown up and sent back to Blighty to become a civilian surgeon."

Bernie chuckles weakly, then coughs.

“Anyway, look lively, soldier, you're coming back to my place.”

“What?” croaks Bernie.

“I'm taking you back to my leafy detached. It'll be easier to look after you if you're there, especially as I'm off for the next three days.”

“But what about the ward?”

“Ric and Hanssen will look after it. Now, where do you keep your suitcase, or is it a kitbag?”

“Kitbag. In the bottom of the wardrobe.”

Serena turns around, opens the wardrobe door, and pulls the desert camo coloured bag out. “I don't think you'll be need much in the way of jeans or shirts, since you’re likely to be bed-bound,” she observes, proceeding to grab one of each and folding them neatly before placing them in the bottom of the bag. “Spare pyjamas and underwear, though.”

She turns away from the wardrobe, aware that she is blushing slightly at the thought of handling her best friend's underwear in a way that she's never blushed about handling Sian's stuff when they’re holidaying together.

“I don't wear pyjamas,” Bernie says, and throws back the bedclothes before Serena can speak or move.

The brunette swallows with relief when she sees that her friend is wearing grey jogging trousers and a faded RAMC t-shirt.

“There are spares in the bottom of the chest of drawers. Underwear is in the top drawer.”

Serena gets it out while Bernie struggles out of bed. She turns back around just in time to see the blonde stumble sideways, and springs forward to stop her from crashing to the floor.

“Carefully,” she chides. “What were you doing?”

“Thought I should get dressed,” Bernie answers hoarsely, then begins coughing.

“Berenice Griselda Wolfe do you have any common sense? You're as weak as a kitten, you foolish woman.”

Serena's scolding has no bite to it, but her friend's shoulders still hunch defensively in response.

“S-sorry,” she splutters.

“Honestly, Bernie.” Serena guides her to sit back down on the side of the bed, then fetches a glass of water from the kitchen. “Drink this. Do you have any prescription drugs that you need to bring?”

“Top of the bedside locker,” Bernie rasps. “Painkillers for my back, and the drugs for my heart.”

“Okay. Phone and charger?”

“In the top drawer of the bedside locker.”

Serena fishes them out and tucks them into the top of Bernie's kitbag, along with her toiletries bag, into which she pushes the blonde's prescription drugs. She adds Bernie's slippers to the bag, then focuses on getting socks and shoes onto her friend's feet, before bundling her into her pastel pink coat, winding a thick grey scarf around her neck, and carefully settling a knitted cap on her head.

“Right then, soldier, let's get you home.”

SC-BW-SC-BW-SC

A few hours later, Serena taps on the door of the spare room where she’d settled Bernie after bringing her back from her flat, and a hoarse croak answers her.

“I’ve brought you some lunch, love,” she says, and carefully manoeuvres the tray she’s carrying into the room. She doesn’t notice that she’s called Bernie ‘love’, which she’s never done before.

“Thanks,” Bernie says, and attempts to sit up. Serena sets the tray down on top of the chest of drawers, then hurries over to ease the other woman upright, propping her against multiple pillows before she perches beside her on the edge of the bed.

“Okay?” Serena asks, brushing her friend’s messy fringe off her forehead so that she can check her temperature with the back of her hand. “Hmm, you’re not currently feverish.”

“Does that mean I can get up?” Bernie asks in a hopeful tone.

Serena chuckles softly. “No, love, it doesn’t. You are staying right where you are. Though if you’re bored, I can come and keep you company.”

“If you’re not too busy.”

“I’m not,” Serena says firmly. She brushes the backs of her fingers down Bernie’s cheek, the sort of tender gesture she’s never made towards anyone before. Then she gets up and brings the tray over to the bed. “Here you go. Cream of chicken soup, as you requested, and some nice soft bread that won’t hurt your throat. And a bowl of raspberry ripple ice cream.”

Bernie huffs a laugh. “Do I eat the ice cream first, and hope the soup doesn’t get cold in the meanwhile, or do I eat the soup first, and hope the ice cream doesn’t totally melt in the meanwhile?”

Serena rolls her eyes. “You’re a grown woman, you decide. I just don’t advise mixing them together.”

“Ew!” Bernie’s look of disgust is priceless, reminding her of Elinor as a small child. 

“Eat your lunch and I’ll find something to entertain us this afternoon.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

When Serena returns a few minutes later, bringing mugs of coffee and her laptop in its case slung over her shoulder, Bernie’s just finishing up the soup and bread, so she sets the mugs down on the bedside table, then pulls out her laptop.

“Mind if I join you?” she asks as Bernie starts on the bowl of half melted ice cream. 

“It’s your bed,” her friend points out.

“Technically yes, but currently it’s your bed.”

“Please do join me.”

Serena smiles, sets the laptop on the unoccupied side of the bed to finish booting up, then takes Bernie’s tray from her lap and sets it on top of the chest of drawers, then she grabs her mug of coffee and moves around the bed to sit beside Bernie, and balances the laptop across her knees.

“I thought we could watch something easy and fun, like a Disney movie,” Serena says.

“Could we make it a Pixar movie, please? Lottie was a big fan of them when she was little and we’d always watch them together when I was home on leave.”

“Of course.” Serena pages through to the Disney+ streaming site, then asks, “Any one in particular?”

“ _Finding Nemo_?”

Serena chuckles softly. “A perennial classic,” she says. “Elinor was a big fan of that one.”

They watch the movie together, then Bernie asks for _A Bug’s Life_ , which she’s never seen, and about ten minutes in she falls asleep, her head canted awkwardly to rest against Serena’s shoulder. She stops the movie, sets aside the laptop, then carefully eases her friend down to lie in the bed, adjusting the pillows to make her more comfortable. She slides the laptop back into the case and slings it over her shoulder, then adds their empty coffee mugs to the tray holding Bernie’s lunch bowls, and cautiously makes her way out of the bedroom.

She’s just drawing the door closed when she hears a hoarse voice speak from under the blankets she’s covered her friend with: “I love you, Serena.”

She swallows the lump that’s suddenly appeared in her throat and murmurs back, “I love you, too, Berenice Griselda Wolfe.” 

Then she makes her way downstairs, certain that Bernie will have forgotten that exchange by the time she wakes up again. She tries not to let the thought hurt because it was only as she repeated the sentiment to Bernie that she finally realised that she has, in fact, fallen in love with her best friend. And that, she suspects, is going to be a big problem.

SC-BW-SC-BW-SC

The following morning, Bernie proves Serena wrong – she not only remembers what she’d said, but repeats the sentiment again, and promises that once she’s no longer infected, she will ‘demonstrate her feelings properly’.

Serena immediately stops cursing the flu.


End file.
